Streaming Kaikorai plans

Dr Simon McMillian is a science teacher at Kaikorai College in Dunedin. We have worked with him previously when he had a Royal Society Fellowship to work on community-based environmental management around the Kaikorai Stream. One of my project groups helped him establish teaching resources based around the installation of a real-time monitoring station in the stream.

In 2008 Simon has a Peter Blake Environmental Award. His project aims to take an integrated approach to environmental awareness and management in the catchment area. A key focus is on engaging the public to make informed decisions on how sustainable living around our urban waterway can be achieved.

I’ve been telling Simon about a project in Durham (UK), with similar aims. There, the “Mapping the Necklace” project aimed to increase use of a waterway though public engagement – in effect building a park without pouring any concrete. He is excited about the potential for this approach.

Streaming Kaikorai

We are working to initiate a community mapping website that aims to start to build a collection of narratives about people living/working/playing within the Kaikorai catchment. The plan is to set up a website that combines google maps with youtube segments of people talking about their experiences of the river and its catchment. We intend seeding this with content from a day’s worth of filming in the catchment.

Further, we are committed to a field day (December 4th) which will be attended by students from about 12 schools. In a rotation system, we will work with each of the 12 groups, teaching them how to video each other and add their stories to the collection. The students are then encouraged to report back to their various schools and homes, hopefully building some community momentum.

We hope that Simon will be able to carry on developing Streaming Kaikorai, possibly with BIT student help, to be used in teaching in a number of schools and in wider community events.

Link to Google earth kmz of Kaikorai Valley (which you would think I could embed here, but it seems I can’t).